Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Parade features, bands, floats, even Mummers
Chester County’s largest hometown parade will strut down the historic Lincoln Highway, on Dec. 1.
COATESVILLE >> Once again this year, Chester County’s largest hometown parade will strut down the historic Lincoln Highway, on Dec. 1. The Coatesville Christmas Parade, a holiday classic, begins at 10 a.m. starting at Strode Avenue and Lincoln Highway, and ends at the performing and judging area at 11th Avenue and Lincoln Highway.
Originally a community project in the 1960s, then taken up by the Jaycees back in the 70s, the parade lost steam in the 1980s. But, it came back with a roar in the 1990s. This year, over 125 entries will grace the Lincoln Highway from dancers swirling their batons, to fleets of tow trucks, police cars and fire trucks, to local contractors showing off their customcrafted floats.
The Coatesville Christmas Parade has it all.
“I started with the Coatesville Christmas Parade in 1976 when it was a project of the Jaycees, said Greg DePedro, parade assistant treasurer. “We ran it for a lot of years along with the Coatesville Chamber of Commerce. Our budget was about $300 and believe it or not, we thought we put on a pretty good parade for $300. Now our budget is over $20,000. We are fortunate that the community always responds to us. We always come in on budget and have never had to go out and collect more money. Our sponsors are just wonderful people. They know we put on a good show.”
DePedro said the Coatesville parade is like a Norman Rockwell hometown Christmas parade.
“We’ve got the Girl Scouts, farmers, and the Boy Scouts, all involved in it,” he said. “Moms and dads see people they go to church with, kids see children they go to school with, everyone knows someone in the parade. There is so much going on in our lives today, people don’t have time to build floats; yet they do. The moms and dads build them. It costs time, money, and effort to build floats, yet this community comes through every year with beautiful ones for their parade.”
Sue Young, vice president of the parade committee and chairwoman of the annual golf outing, concurs with Greg about the generosity of the community.
“Each year, for the last 12 years, we hold the parade’s largest fundraiser at Ingleside Golf Course. It’s always on a beautiful day in early September. We have about 80 to 100 golfers participate in the event. We appreciate all of the golfers, donors, and sponsors who come out each year to make the ‘walk down Lincoln Highway’ a great one each December.”
Sam Radziviliuk, Christmas Parade president and local businessman, said he is proud of the team that puts on this event.
“Our committee is made up of a great group of folks who are totally dedicated to putting on a beautiful show the first Saturday in December,” he said. “They literally will start planning the next Christmas parade the moment this one is over. All year long they organize activities like the Golf Outing, the Jingle Bowl, the Summer Sizzle Dance Party, and other projects to help us raise money to pay for the Parade. We also receive financial support from the community, who loves this parade, and some very generous sponsors. Putting on a full scale parade isn’t inexpensive,” Sam says with a smile, “but it’s worth it.”
Karol Collins, secretary for the parade, organized the Jingle Bowl. “Supporters enjoyed a fun-filled night of bowling, pizza and beverages. Door prizes were given to three lucky winners and a 50-50 raffle was held. Events such as the Jingle Bowl are a fun way to make a donation to the parade while having a fun time out with family and friends.”
Featured this year will be the Duffy and Quaker City String
“We always come in on budget and have never had to go out and collect more money. Our sponsors are just wonderful people. They know we put on a good show.” — Greg DePedro, parade assistant treasurer
bands. Also playing will be the Eagles Pep Band, the Lukens Band, the Chester County Emerald Society Pipe Band, and the Coatesville High School “Red Raider” Marching Band. Mascots will include Reggy The Purple Party Dude, along with a whole slew of cartoon characters who will entertain the crowd.
The Parade has become a cherished memory for the families of the Coatesville area. This event now reaches into the hearts and memories of Coatesvillians everywhere, as it now streams live (and able to be viewed after the run date) on CoatesvilleChristmasParade.com.
This annual gathering is a free event because of the generosity of sponsors like PECO, Coatesville Savings Bank, Penn Medicine’s Chester County Hospital, Tower Health’s Brandywine Hospital, Penn Medicine’s Lancaster General Hospital, the Brandywine Health Foundation, Edge Wallboard Machinery, G.A. Vietri, Inc., ServPro of Kennett Square, Courtyard by Marriott (Phila. /Exton), Wegman’s, James J. Terry Funeral Home, Inc., CTDI, The City of Coatesville, 3CTVLIVE.com, Herr’s and many others.
Servpro of Kennett Square/ Oxford, Sales and Marketing Manager, Cliff Masscotte, recalls, “Last year was our first year in the parade and we couldn’t of had a better time seeing the hundreds of people line the streets to help embrace the season. We have had the fun of creating another float for the Coatesville parade this year, and we went with a “North Pole” theme. There is no better way to get into the spirit of the holidays than seeing the smiles of the people that we serve.”
Honored this year will be the team who made the renovation of Scott Field a reality; a hard-working mix of contractors, civic leaders,
and regular citizens. Also this year, look for local elementary, middle and high school groups, cub scouts, boy scouts, girl scouts and brownies. Churches participate by marching in the parade and by singing Christmas carols on Lincoln Highway prior to the
start of the parade. There will also be dance academies, cheerleading groups, hip-hop dancers and baton twirlers. Not to be missed is the always-a-show-pleaser, larger-than-life cartoon characters.
An automotive competition featuring Antique, Classic and Modified autos will be competing for prizes. Another competition is for Best Appearing Fire Apparatus, with the expectation
that all the local fire companies in Western Chester County will be represented. Chester County police departments will compete for Best Appearing Police Vehicle.
The competition for Best Appearing Float sponsored by a non-profit organization features prizes of $500 for first place, $300 for second place, and $200 for third place. There is also a Best Appearing Float sponsored
by a for-profit organization. They compete for bragging rights and a plaque. Lastly, there will be a competition for Best Appearing Group. Note that all competitions are for first, second and third places.
Bringing up the rear of the parade will be none other than the big man himself, Santa Claus, riding on a Coatesville Fire Department truck. Admission is free.